Project Sheilahttp://projectsheila.net
Free & Low-Cost Websites for Progressive Female CandidatesWed, 20 Sep 2017 18:29:44 +0000en-UShourly1https://wordpress.org/?v=4.8.2http://projectsheila.net/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/cropped-ps-500x500-32x32.pngProject Sheilahttp://projectsheila.net
3232Client Showcase: Hayley Young, County Supervisorhttp://projectsheila.net/2017/08/07/client-hayley-young/
http://projectsheila.net/2017/08/07/client-hayley-young/#respondMon, 07 Aug 2017 20:58:49 +0000http://projectsheila.net/?p=158 Hayley Young ran and won her first election at age 23. Even though her opponent spent nearly twice what she did, Hayley walked away with 67% of the vote. Now a Supervisor on the Dane County Board in Madison, … Read More

Hayley Young ran and won her first election at age 23. Even though her opponent spent nearly twice what she did, Hayley walked away with 67% of the vote. Now a Supervisor on the Dane County Board in Madison, Wisconsin, she sat down with Project Sheila’s founder Eliza Cussen to talk shop.

Project Sheila: Can you tell us a little about you and your district?

Hayley Young: I graduated from University of Wisconsin-Madison in 2015 with a degree in Political Science and International Studies and a certificate in Gender and Women’s Studies. I work two part-time jobs, one in our state capitol as an aide to Assembly Representative Melissa Sargent, and another as an advocate at the Wisconsin Breast Cancer Coalition.

In April 2016, I ran for Dane County Board and won. I now serve on three of the Board’s committees. The seat I represent includes the college campus and is primarily made up of students and young professionals.

PS: When did you first think about running for office? What inspired you to take the plunge and run in this particular race?

HY: I decided to run for County Board about a year before election day, while I was participating in Emerge Wisconsin’s candidate training program. I’d been a student leader on campus, and people around me were encouraging me to run for this particular race. I still had some reservations, but I got the tools and support I needed to take the plunge.

PS: What challenges did you face as a young woman running for county board?

HY: Many of the things that made running difficult weren’t about being young, or a woman. But there were a few times where that really came front and center. I remember doing an interview with a local reporter, and he said to me “well your seat doesn’t really do anything”. Now, I know what I would say to that which is my seat has equal voting power to everyone else’s but at the time I had no idea what to say.

I think being a young woman and an elected official right now has some unique challenges. I still feel like I have to work harder to make sure I am taken seriously, because when you are the only person under 30 in a room over and over again you end up representing all millennials. But at the same time, I have some unique advantages. In my first year, several of my female colleagues reached out to me to make sure I had what I needed to navigate my first budget, and I am still getting offered opportunities for more leadership and involvement.

PS: What role did your website play in your campaign?

HY: The website was really important for fundraising because having a link I could direct people to over the phone was key. It is a lot easier to say, “go to hayleyforcountyboard.com/donate” on the phone than to try to read out a nonsensical URL to something like Act Blue. It is also where I hosted my endorsements, bio, and information about my policy platform. This really pulled all my campaign activities together.

PS: How did you approach getting your website built?

HY: I had a tiny budget so I ended up using a free website service called Weebly. I paid $20 to have the domain link with the free service. I ended up having a friend design a logo, and another friend take pictures. I then used the free website builder to put it all together. It is just fine for what I was doing at the time, but as I am preparing for running this next year I know I will need a new logo, new photos and will need to revamp the text as well as the layout. Before Project Sheila launched I was looking into alternatives to Weebly.

PS: What are you running for next? Are you planning on approaching digital campaigning differently?

HY: I am running for re-election this next spring, and have considered using my website more this next cycle. I would love to have a better logo, and better graphic template for endorsements etc. I just used the graphic design tool Canva to overlay photos of endorsers who gave me a quote with my campaign logo to post on facebook. Those usually got a great post reach, but looking back they do have a very amateur look to them. I know people will expect a more professional look from me now that I’m an incumbent.

PS: Any advice for the sisterhood on building campaign websites?

HY: I would say do more research, I picked Weebly because it was easy to use and cheap. I didn’t really spend much time trying to find out what else was out there. It’s a huge relief to have Project Sheila’s support for my next campaign. I can basically hand over my website to them and spend my time knocking doors.

]]>http://projectsheila.net/2017/08/07/client-hayley-young/feed/0Project Sheila Won’t Compromise on Abortion Rightshttp://projectsheila.net/2017/07/31/abortion-rights/
http://projectsheila.net/2017/07/31/abortion-rights/#respondMon, 31 Jul 2017 23:50:24 +0000http://projectsheila.net/?p=140By Eliza Cussen, Founder I’m an immigrant and yes, I get the job done. Every newcomer to America is in a constant state of deciding which elements of American culture to take on. I will take your buffalo wings, but … Read More

I’m an immigrant and yes, I get the job done. Every newcomer to America is in a constant state of deciding which elements of American culture to take on. I will take your buffalo wings, but you can keep your two party system.

In my native Australia we have two leading parties, but that doesn’t translate to a two party system. In my lifetime, Labor, The Greens, and the Australian Democrats have all vied for votes from the left and have all held positions of influence in the Federal Senate. In my senior year of college, I interned for GetUp, the Aussie equivalent of MoveOn.org. There, I developed a love of advocacy over politics and found I felt more at home on the outside throwing rocks than inside a party machine.

It made sense to me that when I moved to America, I got a job putting left wing politicians through their paces. When I worked for NARAL in Wisconsin, it was my literal job to give candidates a litmus test on abortion, something that the Democratic National Committee will no longer bother with. As reported in The Hill, the DNC will offer financial support to Democratic candidates who oppose abortion. In other words, the Democratic Party is prepared to win at any cost, even if it costs women’s lives.

The DNC has come to this position under the belief that being the pro-choice party will prevent them from winning the 24 Congressional Districts they need to retake the house in 2018. With 70% of Americans supporting legal abortion, this is clearly untrue.

In 2017, the waters are far murkier than Democrat=pro-choice, Republican=anti-choice. 2017 research by the Pew Forum found that a whopping 22% of Democrats believe abortion should be illegal in all or most cases. And before you start blaming men (as we nasty women are wont to do), support for abortion is almost identical among men and women regardless of party affiliation.

What is clear is that we can’t take our eyes off Democratic leadership for a second and that if we want abortion to remain legal in the United States, we need a massive shift in the culture of the left. The quickest way to do that? Elect more women, and make sure they have the ovaries to stand up for reproductive freedom.

The DNC might not have a litmus test for abortion, but Project Sheila does. Our job is to help create a future where women make up at least half of government. In this Utopia, I predict that abortion will no longer be a “wedge issue” or abstract topic for men to debate. In the female future, abortion will simply be healthcare.

]]>http://projectsheila.net/2017/07/31/abortion-rights/feed/0The 4 Things Every Campaign Site Must Dohttp://projectsheila.net/2017/07/20/4-things/
http://projectsheila.net/2017/07/20/4-things/#respondThu, 20 Jul 2017 17:35:47 +0000http://projectsheila.net/?p=114Campaign websites are precious real estate. Just like a piece of lit to be hung on a doorknob, they must work fast to capture the voter’s attention. Here we’ll detail the four essential functions of an effective campaign website. Whether … Read More

Campaign websites are precious real estate. Just like a piece of lit to be hung on a doorknob, they must work fast to capture the voter’s attention. Here we’ll detail the four essential functions of an effective campaign website. Whether you’re running for school board, or governor the same rules apply.

Inspire

In order to convert a website user to a voter, then a donor, then a volunteer, you need to inform the user about what you stand for. You have to tell your story and outline your policy positions. One of the most common mistakes we see is candidates failing to provide content that informs and persuades voters.

Raise

If you succeed at inspiring your website visitors, many will be inclined to donate. Make this as easy as possible. Make sure you have a button (that works) and that there is a way to access your donation form from every page on your site. Everyone interacts with a website a little differently, so it’s a good idea to link to your donation form within the text of your site.

Recruit

Every candidate needs her team. Help your website users join yours.

One part of this having a sign-up form on your website. This ensures you collect that precious contact information that will help you win and hold office in the years to come. Like your donation form, this should be easy to spot and accessible from multiple places on your website. Be sure to include fields for first and last names, email address, and phone number. Remember that the more form fields you include, the more daunting the form looks and the less likely a person is to fill it out.

Your site should also collect the contact information of people interested in volunteering. You can do this by having a separate form, or including a checkbox on your regular signup form.

Comply

There are a plethora of state and federal regulations impacting what your site can and cannot include. It’s important that the person creating and managing your site is familiar with current laws and can help you avoid sticky situations.

If you’re a progressive woman running for office, please get in touch. We can help design, build, write, and maintain your campaign website at minimal cost. Why? Because government in America needs more Sheilas.

]]>http://projectsheila.net/2017/07/20/4-things/feed/0Project Sheila’s Origin Storyhttp://projectsheila.net/2017/07/20/project-sheilas-origin-story/
http://projectsheila.net/2017/07/20/project-sheilas-origin-story/#respondThu, 20 Jul 2017 15:02:14 +0000http://projectsheila.net/?p=100On the one month anniversary of Project Sheila going live, the resource was featured in Lilith Magazine, a title for Jewish feminists. Here’s an excerpt: “I believe that facilitating the election of women is really the only way to ensure … Read More

“I believe that facilitating the election of women is really the only way to ensure reproductive freedoms are protected,” she wrote in an email. “The theft of the 2016 election by Trump was a crushing blow, but the resistance that has bloomed in the last 8 months has been a joy to behold. I want to help it however I can.”

Instead of pledging allegiance to a party, she created several other guidelines. Project Sheila candidates must be female, femme, transgender, or otherwise gender-nonconforming. They must be progressive, which the website defines as “supporting the equal opportunity and dignity of women, people of color, immigrants, LGBT people, and other vulnerable and under-served groups.” It also states that “the candidate must stand for abortion rights and reproductive justice, and support policies that dismantle white supremacy. They must advocate for the health of the planet.”

The name Sheila comes from an Australian slang term traditionally used by men in reference to women. “Sheila describes a certain type of woman whose edges are a little bit rough, who is not always interested in doing what’s right and proper —she’s interested in going her own way,” said Cussen. “I wanted to bake that into the enterprise, to really embrace women who don’t necessarily fit the mold of the statesman and work out how we can get them to be amazing politicians.” The website proclaims, “American government needs more Sheilas.”